2015 Audi Q7 revealed
A few months ago, there were whispers of the a new Audi Q7 on the horizon with Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi’s head of technical development stating ““If you make a trip to Detroit, you’ll see it,” and that was it. Today, less than a month away from the scheduled Detroit launch, Audi have released images and specs. At first glance, it quite appealing, the taut lines a far cry from the bulbous proportions of the previous car. Audi claim that the new car sheds 325 kgs, which is quite a lot, it adds efficiency and saves the rainforest. Well, Almost.
The new car is 37mm shorter and 15mm narrower than the previous car, and with some modern day design wizardry Audi have increased 21mm between the first and second row of seats. Ze Germans, I tell you. It is still a gargantuan 2-tonne monolith though and that is a part of its appeal. Why else would you buy a Q7. In addition to that, you can opt for a third row, and still have a 295 litre boot, and if you are the outdoorsy sort, you can stick to the standard two row seating version and get a ginormous 890 litre boot. You can fold the seats down and get a massive 2,075 litre boot, a boon if you are ever moving house.
The Q7 will sport Audi’s 3.0-litre, 270bhp V6 diesel that produces 601Nm of torque, and this means it breaks the 100kmph mark in 6.3 second and has a top speed of 230kmph. Just to set the tone, it wieghs 2 tonnes.There will be a 215 bhp down tuned version on offer which is likely to make it to India while a plug-in hybrid Q7 e-tron Quattro is also in the cards. The e-Tron quattro will also share the same same 3.0-litre V6, making 256bhp as the standard car and is boosted by an electric motor for a total system output of 370bhp, 700 Nm of torque and hits the 100kph mark in 6.1 seconds. It will be more fuel efficient than the standard car, and emission will be a third of the standard car.
We are told that there is an 8-speed auto box on offer as well, with Audi’s latest four-wheel drive system which is the lightest that they have ever made, for the Q7. The new Q7 will ride 50 mm lower than the previous car, considering that the engine is installed lower, and new 5-link suspensions replaces the double wishbones. The chassis is 100kilos lighter than before. In addition you also get air suspension to electronically adjust the height of the car, it can be increased to 60mm.
The Q7 gets new electro-mechanical steering and the option of ‘all-wheel-steering’, where the rear wheels will turn inward by as much as five degrees to ‘enhance vehicle stability’. Also on offer are seven dynamic settings; efficiency, comfort, auto, dynamic, individual, allroad, and lift/offroad, 19-inch wheels( you can opt for 21’s, in case you are the type that like spinners and obnoxious bling). Did I mention you also get vented discs with six-piston calipers, a predictive efficiency assistance, night vision assistance, adaptive cruise control, a traffic jam assistant and lane assist, as standard. Gulp.
Creature comforts, include Internet, rear seat entertainment, 3D surround sound, an on board computer par excellence. Virtual cockpit, first seen in the new TT. According to Audi there is also a speech control system that works on the lines of Siri, understanding everything rather than just a preset list of commands. The new Q7 really leaves nothing to be desired.
